Tengu and Bushido's swords clashed. The two fighters broke apart briefly, only to rush each other again. Tengu went for a head swipe, only to have Bushido duck under it and ram the hilt of his sword into the older man's ribs. A grunt escaped Tengu's teeth, but he pushed past the pain and aimed a knee-strike to the boy's abdomen. Bushido managed to place the flat of his hand against the attacking knee and pushed himself away from Tengu.

The assassin straightened up and adjusted the grip on his sword. The kid had sharp reflexes and was good at improvising. But there was something all the fancy tricks in the world couldn't save you from.

He whipped his gun out and began firing. Bushido leapt to his left, hit the ground with a roll and came up running. He felt a sharp pain in his right leg but forced himself to ignore it and keep going. No matter how good a shot somebody was, a moving target was always harder to hit. He kept his side to Tengu, giving him a smaller point to aim at, and held his sword over his torso in order to shield his vital points.

Tengu continued firing until only clicks sounded from his weapon. Seeing that Bushido was already running towards him, he knew he wouldn't have time to reload. So he threw his gun aside and ran to meet the boy's charge with a loud battle cry.

"Aaaagggh!"

Ibaraki couldn't hold the cry of pain as the masked girl's boot impacted with her back. She flew off of her feet and skidded along the ground, getting a mouthful of grass along the way.

Any inhibitions Akita had had about fighting a young girl were now gone. This kid was lethal! It was time to take off the kiddy gloves.

Giving his best Bruce Lee scream, he began to lay into his opponent with a series of punches and strikes. Mere split seconds passed between each attack. He even leapt in with a flying kick.

Cheshire tilted her head from side to side, avoiding the blows to her face. She moved her body in a similar way, effortlessly dodging the attacks aimed at her torso. When Akita struck with his flying kick, she did a graceful spin to the side, letting him sail past. The detective landed awkwardly, struggling to keep his balance. He turned his head just in time to see one of Cheshire's hair bundles flying towards his face. Next thing he knew, he was laying flat on his back, with a stinging nose, and Ibaraki looking down at him.

"You okay?" She asked from where she was kneeling next to him.

"Did she just hit me with her hair?" He answered in a dazed voice.

"Looked like it."

Akita pushed himself up into a sitting position. He could see Cheshire standing in the same spot she had been on when she'd knocked him over. She'd made no move except for her arms swinging lazily by her sides.

"Why isn't she coming in to finish us off?" He whispered to his partner.

"I don't think it's us she's interested in." Ibaraki spoke quietly back. "She's just here to make sure we don't interfere with those two."

She nodded towards Bushido and Tengu.

Akita shuffled closer to her, wanting to be sure that Cheshire wouldn't hear.

"Don't you think this might be a good time to call in back-up?"

"Already done." Ibaraki lightly tapped her jacket pocket. "Hit the emergency button after she floored me. We're just going to have to hope they get here before the kid runs out of steam."

Bushido and Tengu's swords swung back and forth, clashing with each other fiercely. The two fighters had forgotten tactics, in the heat of battle, and each was now trying to overpower the other. Tengu had the greater strength, but Bushido was almost blind to that. He was showing no fear or hesitation in his fighting, just as he'd been taught to.

Tengu wasn't afraid either. If anything, the boy's ferocity only made him more excited. Something about knowing that only one of you was going to walk away always made the fight that much better. It was why he'd gotten into this line of work to begin with. The assassin's blood boiled. He hadn't had a challenge like this since –

His thoughts were painfully interrupted by Bushido slipping through his defense and driving his knee into Tengu's stomach. This time however, Tengu didn't give him a chance to get clear. He clobbered the side of the boy's face with his sword hilt, knocking him sideways onto the grass.

Tengu raised his sword above his head, ready to deliver the finishing blow, when an all too familiar sound reached his ears. The sound of police sirens. Turning his head, he could already see the flashing lights coming up the country road.

"Oh, you've got to be -"

That momentary lapse of concentration was all Bushido needed. He swung his legs around and swept Tengu's out from under him. Grabbing his sword, the boy sprang upright again and the roles of the two fighters were reversed.

With a sword tip pointed at his throat, Tengu looked up at the young warrior standing over him.

"You'd best finish me, kid." He said. "I would've done it by now."

"That is not necessary." Bushido replied, his voice even. "The police are here and you will be taken into custody."

Tengu just looked at him for a moment, and then flashed a grin.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Just then, Ibaraki's voice called out,

"Bushido, behind you!"

He spun around and saw Cheshire sprinting towards him with her arms spread out at her sides. Up to then, Bushido had been so preoccupied with his fight against Tengu, that he hadn't even known she was there. His surprise meant that the female assassin was able to knock his sword from his hand with a swipe from her sleeved arm. She then performed a backward flip, knocking her boot into Bushido's chin.

As the hero went down, Cheshire landed nimbly on her feet. She flicked her arms back, letting the sleeves drop and revealing the razor sharp blades underneath. Just as she was about to strike at her dazed prey, she herself was tackled from behind.

Akita wrapped his arms around the girl's torso, trapping her limbs and taking them both down to the ground. Unfortunately, his hold didn't last long. Cheshire struck his ribs with her elbow and flipped him over, so that she had him pinned.

There was a flurry of movement, a glint of metal, and Akita felt a sharp pain in his right upper arm. Looking toward the afflicted area, he saw that Cheshire had stabbed him with one of her blades.

The initial shock one experiences after discovering they've been stabbed didn't last long for Akita. He was an officer of the law after all, and the blade hadn't hit anything vital. He swung out with his left fist and struck the girl's mask, knocking her off him. All chivalry went out the window when knife play was involved.

The punch didn't seem to faze Cheshire much, as she elegantly flipped herself back onto her feet. Akita stumbled upright, his right arm curled protectively into his chest; his left raised and ready to fend off any blows coming his way. But Cheshire didn't move. Instead, she stood in her relaxed stance again, her arms hanging by her sides.

Akita wondered what she was waiting for, but suddenly his vision began to blur. He tried to raise his hand, to rub his eyes, but he found that he'd lost feeling in it. His legs followed shortly after.

Cheshire sped forward and caught Akita before he hit the ground. Pulling him upright, she reached into one of her sleeves and pulled out a small clear vial. Some pale blue liquid could be seen inside. She tilted the limp man's head back and poured the vial's contents down his thought.

Tengu had gotten back to his feet and retrieved his sword. There were three things going on in front of him. Cheshire was holding a police officer and seemed to be sticking something into his mouth. Bushido was still on the ground, having been stunned by the female assassin, but he was reaching for his weapon; his eyes on Cheshire.

Tengu would've taken this opportunity to attack the boy while his attention was elsewhere, if not for the third thing happening in front of him. That thing was about a dozen armed police officers all aiming their guns directly at him. There was a female officer at the head telling him to drop his weapon and let the man go. He guessed that second request was aimed at his young partner.

Before Tengu could even begin thinking of a way out of the current situation, Cheshire shoved Akita's still form into his arms. The two assassins stood together with a number of guns trained on them. Bushido was crouched on the ground, staying low so as not to get in the line of fire, but ready to make a move should the need arise.

Using the technical term of the assassin trade; they were screwed.

Cheshire, however, didn't seem to share that notion. She slipped her hand into one of her wide sleeves again and came out holding what looked like some grey material wrapped tightly into a ball. Bushido seemed to realize what it was and began to move towards the girl, but she threw it to the ground before he could reach her.

An enormous cloud of grey smoke seemed to explode out of the ball. It quickly expanded and engulfed the area. Upon breathing it in, the police officers began to hack and cough; their eyes and throats stinging.

Having held his breath when he'd seen the smoke bomb, Bushido was still able to function properly and helped to guide some of the blinded officers to clearer air.

When the smoke had finally risen enough for him to see properly, Bushido wasn't at all surprised to see that the two assassins had disappeared. And, as he'd also feared, Akita was gone with them.

--

Ibaraki sat away from the busy scene the field had become. The forensics team were searching the area for clues as to the assassins' destination. She didn't hold out much hope that they'd be successful. She'd already told the Captain everything she knew. He hadn't been too thrilled with the way she and Akita had acted on their own, and had said he'd speak to them both in private later.

Right now, Ibaraki just hoped they would both be there for the dressing down.

"I'm sorry."

She jumped at the voice next to her, but then relaxed on seeing Bushido sitting beside her.

"Hey, kid. You okay?" She indicated the bandage wound around the boy's leg. He'd disappeared after the fight was over, so she assumed he'd done it up himself.

Bushido gave a small nod.

"The bullet only grazed me. The bleeding had already stopped when I checked it."

The two of them sat in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry." Bushido said again.

Ibaraki raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this." The young warrior continued.

"Hey. Like I told you before, it's my job to be involved in stuff like this." Ibaraki sighed. "If anyone shouldn't have been involved, it was you. I shouldn't have let you risk your life like that."

"My duty is clear. As a Bushido, I must -"

"Oh, enough with the whole 'Bushido' business!" Ibaraki snapped. "You're just a teenager. You shouldn't be fighting criminals; you should be going to school, or going out on dates. You want my advice? You should just forget all about that stupid code!"

Now Bushido was the one who snapped.

"My mother lived, fought and died for that 'stupid code'! You expect me to just walk away from everything she believed in?!"

He looked away from her, staring down at the ground.

Ibaraki spoke again; this time more softly.

"I'm sorry about your mother. I'm sure she was a brave woman. But, just because this was her life, doesn't mean it has to be yours."

Bushido didn't answer, so she tried another approach.

"What about your father? How does he feel about what you're doing?"

"My father passed away when I was a child." Bushido answered quietly. "My mother raised me by herself. She was all I had."

The boy now turned to face Ibaraki.

"Now all I have is what she taught me."

The detective had had a few more arguments she had wanted to try. But, right now, they all seemed useless. Some more time went by with neither of them saying anything. She was the one that broke the silence.

"Do you think there's a chance that Akita's still alive?"

Bushido nodded.

"They wouldn't have bothered to take him if they were just going to kill him. My guess is they want to use him to make sure I don't bring help to our next 'meeting'."

Ibaraki exhaled slowly and stood up.

"So, I guess we're waiting on them then." She said. "I'll see what I can dig up in the meantime."

"It really would be best if you let me do this alone." Said Bushido. He then added more to himself than her, "As I should have in the first place."

"Look kid, I think it's pretty clear by now that neither of us are going to give up on this. So how about you let me do my job," She held out a hand to the teen. "And I'll let you do yours."

Bushido looked at her for a moment; his face unreadable. But then a small smile graced his features. He gripped Ibaraki's hand and the two crime fighters shook. From now on, they were comrades.